Water Maintenance Made Easy

MSpa maintenance must focus on chemical balance in your pool water, especially maintaining the pH in the ideal range 7.2 - 7.8. Failure to do so can result in catastrophic failure of the components in your MSpa control unit in as little as 3 months, costing hundreds of dollars. Product failure due to poor or incorrect water maintenance is NOT covered by warranty. 

To ensure your spa pool is always ready to use and for the health and wellbeing of everyone using your MSpa, it's essential to treat and balance the water so it stays clean, fresh, and inviting.

You may have received a Starter Kit with your purchase, which is used alongside this guide. If not, you can purchase one from Portable Spas New Zealand. Successful water care consists of a simple startup procedure and an ongoing maintenance plan – we're here to help make it hassle-free.

Water care requirements can vary based on the frequency of use and whether it's one, two or more people using the MSpa. With good filter maintenance and water management, you can change your water less frequently than traditional guidelines suggest.

Make use of our new, easy Water Testing App for precise test results and suggestions. 

If you already have an idea about water maintenance, you can skip ahead to Section 2: Startup Guide.

Contents

Section 1 – Beginner's Guide to Water Treatment
Section 2 – Simple Water Setup Guide
Section 3 – No Hassle Water Care & Dosing Guide
Section 4 – Essential Water Treatment Rules
Section 5 – Draining & Refilling Guide
Section 6 – Troubleshooting
Section 7 – Spa Models & Water Capacities

Section 1: Beginner's Guide to Water Treatment

What is Water Treatment?

Water treatment is the process of adding chemicals to your spa pool to keep it clean and safe to bathe in. Treatment has two main parts: sanitising and balancing – we'll keep things straightforward and easy.

Sanitising the Water

Sanitising means adding a disinfectant (chlorine or bromine) to kill bacteria. Without sanitiser, bacteria from bathers' bodies, oils, and dirt can quickly turn the water foul, smelly, and unsafe. Even if your spa has an ozone generator or UV system, these alone cannot fully sanitise the water. A small, regular dose of chlorine or bromine is essential – no mucking about here.

• Chlorine: Comes as a powder. Always dissolve chemicals before putting them in your MSpa – stir until no granules remain. If you are in a hurry, use hot water to dissolve the chemicals faster. Pour the dissolved chlorine into the MSpa and then run the bubbles for 5 minutes.
• Bromine: Comes as tablets, added to a floating dispenser that slowly releases sanitiser. Use one tablet per 400L of spa water to start.

DO NOT MIX CHLORINE AND BROMINE. If you decide to switch from one to the other, please completely drain your MSpa and refill with fresh water before commencing treatment with the other sanitiser.

Our spas are not compatible with silver products.

Tip: For daily and more frequent use, add a teaspoon or two of dissolved chlorine each day (unless your chlorine levels are already high). For less frequent use, add chlorine in conjunction with your water testing - at least weekly. This keeps things simple.

Balancing the Water

Note that it can be easier to maintain your water balance, and extend the life of your filter cartridges if bathers have quick showers before using your MSpa. Especially if people use moisturisers, lotions, fake tans, sun screens, deodorants, perfumes etc, or if they are sweaty and dirty, a quick shower prior to using your MSpa should be compulsory.

Beyond sanitising, you must balance three key factors: pH, Total Alkalinity (TA), and Calcium Hardness. Don't worry – it sounds more complicated than it is.

• pH Levels (7.2 – 7.8): Focus chemical management on maintaining the pH level in the ideal range between 7.2 and 7.8. Keeps water comfortable for eyes/skin and ensures sanitiser works effectively. Too high or too low can cause skin and eye irritation, corrosion  within the control unit, or cloudy water.
• Total Alkalinity (80 – 120 PPM): Stabilises pH. Adjust TA first at startup to make balancing easier.
• Calcium Hardness (120 – 250 PPM): Too soft = corrosive water damaging spa parts. Too hard = scale buildup. Town supply water is usually in range but may need slight adjustment.

Important: Add any other dissolved chemicals to get the water into the ideal ranges for pH, alkalinity, hardness etc before adding chlorine. Chlorine works best when the water is balanced.

Other Regular Maintenance

• Shock Dosing (Chlorine users): Every fortnight and immediately after heavy use, dissolve Spa Chlor in a bucket and add with bubbles running.
• Filter Cleaning: Check weekly, wash thoroughly with a hose, replace with new filter cartridges every 4–6 weeks. Dirty filters can cause flow errors (E1/F1).
• General Cleaning: Wipe away grime, debris, and waterline scum. Always have a quick shower before using your MSpa, especially if you are dirty, sweaty, covered in sunscreen, fake tans, lotions, moisturiser or other products that could cause a change to the water chemical composition. This will also help your filter management – and it's good as gold for keeping your spa in top condition.

Section 2: Simple 8-Step Spa Startup Guide

1. Assemble and inflate your MSpa
2. Fill spa with a hose to between the minimum and maximum levels (see manual).
3. Turn power on, set temperature, press heater.
4. Add sanitiser:
   
   
• Chlorine: Shock dose with Spa Chlor OR
• Bromine: Add tablets to floater (1 per 400L), aim for 3–5 PPM
  
  
5. Run bubbles for 20 minutes with cover off to mix and vent.
6. Replace cover and allow spa to heat.
7. After 24 hours, test pH and TA, balance if needed and if needed, test again in a day or two
8. Enjoy your spa! Test calcium hardness after 1–2 days and adjust if required.

You can start enjoying your MSpa as soon as the water is at your desired temperature. Getting the water balanced can be a bit of a challenge for the first 7 - 10 days. Thereafter the teaspoon or so of chemicals that you need to add whenever you test the water becomes more consistent.

After the initial set-up, unless you are not using your MSpa at all, the water should be tested and treated at least once per week. If you are using your MSpa less than weekly, test and balance your water after your spa, and the water should be ok without testing for 2 or 3 weeks, especially if you put your MSpa into standby mode.

Section 3: No Hassle Water Care & Dosing Guide

A suggested schedule for a family of three using the spa three times weekly – hassle-free and straightforward:

• Startup – Balance water per guidelines.
• Weekly – Add sanitiser after use, test pH & TA.
• Fortnightly – Shock dose.
• Every 3–4 months – Drain, clean or replace the filter cartridge, clean the insides of the inlet and outlet valves. Especially if there was any gunk in the valves or powdery residue in the pipes, remove the control unit from the MSpa and flush it with a hose from the inlet to the outlet pipes. Refill (or less frequently with good maintenance - see Section 4).

Key Products in Starter Kits

• Chlorine Kit: Spa Chlor, Calcium Hardener, pH Buffer, pH Decrease, Test Strips.
• Bromine Kit: Bromine Tablets, Calcium Hardener, pH Buffer, pH Increase, Test Strips.

Additional Helpful Products

• Spa Shock (oxidiser for heavy use/cloudy water)
• Crystal Clear (clarifier for cloudy water)
• No Foam (anti-foam for detergent/oil buildup)
• Algaecide (kills algae)

Using Test Strips

1. Turn off bubbles.
2. Dip strip horizontally in the spa water for a few seconds, flick excess water.
3. Within 10 seconds the test strip colours should make for easy comparison against the colour chart on the bottle.
4. If colours fall between chart ranges, use the higher reading for safety.
5. Record results, add chemicals accordingly.

Note: Chemicals don't result in instant changes to your water balance. Wait 24 hours before retesting.

Example Readings

• Low Calcium (100 PPM): Add Calcium Hardener.
• High pH (9.0): Add pH Decrease.
• TA in Range (120 PPM): No action required.

Important: Chemical treatment should rarely require more than 2 teaspoons of any chemical, apart from the fortnightly chlorine shock dose.

Section 4: Essential Water Treatment Rules

Follow these essential rules for optimal water care.

Water Treatment Guidelines:

1. Use chemicals or completely drain and replace the water every 3 days if not maintaining proper chemical balance.
2. Have a quick shower before using your MSpa, especially if you are dirty, sweaty, covered in sunscreen, fake tan, lotions, moisturiser or other products that could cause a change to the water chemical composition. This will also help your filter management.
3. Test your water at least weekly. The only exceptions to this are if you use your MSpa less than once per week or you are not using your MSpa at all. For both scenarios before commencing a period of less frequent water testing, please ensure the filter cartridge is new or near new and clean, that the pH is in the ideal range and use a slow-release chemical dispenser with chlorine shock dose pill(s).
4. Focus chemical management on maintaining the pH level in the ideal range between 7.2 and 7.8.
   
5. Dissolve chemicals before putting them in your MSpa – stir until no granules remain. If you are in a hurry, use hot water to dissolve the chemicals faster.
6. Chemical treatment should never require more than 2 teaspoons of any chemical, apart from the fortnightly chlorine shock dose. This prevents over-dosing which can damage your spa and irritate skin.
7. Unless your chlorine levels are already high, for daily and more frequent use, add a teaspoon or two of chlorine each day. For less frequent use, add chlorine in conjunction with your water testing - at least weekly.
8. Add any other chemicals to get the water into the ideal ranges for pH, alkalinity, hardness etc before adding chlorine. Chlorine works best when the water is balanced.

Special Note for Rain / Tank Water Users

Especially for those MSpa users that are on tank water supply, you need not drain and refill your MSpa every 3 months. With good water filter and control unit maintenance, you can change your water less frequently. When maintaining the water balance becomes difficult, it's then time to drain and refill your MSpa.

Please note that there are no exceptions to the use of chemicals. If you are on rain water / tank water supply, you must still balance your water with chemicals, or be prepared to completely drain and refill your MSpa every 3 days.

Section 5: Draining & Refilling Guide

• Drain every 3–4 months (or less frequently with excellent maintenance - see Section 4).
• Turn off power, drain via valve/hose, sponge out remaining water.
• Clean shell with mild soap and microfibre cloth.
• Clean inlet and outlet valves. If gunk or scale is evident, then also clean the pipes between the pool and the control unit and flush the control unit with a hose running the water into the inlet pipe so it flows out the outlet pipe..
• Wash or replace the filter cartridge..
• Refill and restart using the Section 2 guide.

Section 6: Troubleshooting

If you run into any issues, here's how to get things sorted:

• Cloudy Water: Clean filter, balance pH/TA, shock dose, add clarifier.
• Discoloured/Smelly Water: Indicates bacteria buildup. Increase sanitiser, shock dose twice if needed. If your MSpa has the UVC feature, please note that this can be run 24x7 and if it has Ozone, running this after each spa helps kill bacteria.
• Foamy Water: Caused by oils/detergents. Shower before use, skim foam, add anti-foam if needed.
• Skin/Eye Irritation: Caused by poor pH balance or sanitiser imbalance. Balance water, adjust sanitiser.
• Scum Line: Caused by oils, lotions, makeup, or high calcium. Clean regularly, shower before spa use.
• Floating Debris: Clean filter, skim with cleaning kit net, shock dose, flush system if persistent.
• Excess Algae: Use algaecide, repeat if necessary and as above use the UVC and Ozone features if available in your MSpa.

When to contact us: If water stays cloudy after following these steps, if you're using more chemicals than recommended, or if problems persist after 48 hours, give us a call. We're here to help – you can count on us to get you back to enjoying your MSpa.

Section 7: Spa Models & Water Capacities

Refer to your spa's manual for exact litre capacity to ensure correct dosing. All MSpas solds in New Zealand are approximately 1,000L.

Contact Portable Spas New Zealand
Sales: +64 27 411 2323 | sales@portablespas.co.nz
Service: service@portablespas.co.nz